Invertible garment

ABSTRACT

An invertible, reversible, tailored, contoured, fitted garment, such as a coat, jacket, cloak, cowl, shawl, car coat, poncho, dupatta, hijab, nursing garment, blanket or vest. A long pattern piece having a shawl collar is provided, as is a short pattern piece having a yoke collar. First and second pattern sleeves are provided for forming sleeves. An elongated armhole is provided to which the first and second pattern sleeves are removably attached. The long pattern piece has at least one pocket. The length of the first and second sleeves of the original garment are substantially equal to the length of the first and second sleeves of the garment after inversion thereof. A fastener in the form of a clasp, a snap, a zipper, a metal retainer pair, a hook and loop fastener, or a button and hole fastener permits attachment of a wraparound portion to a wearer&#39;s body of the short, inverted garment.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to outerwear fabric garments and, moreparticularly, to a garment that can easily be inverted from a firstgarment to a second garment, and reversed from a third garment to afourth to be worn as a coat, jacket, cloak, cowl, shawl, car coat,poncho, dupatta, hijab, nursing garment, blanket or vest.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Jackets or coats that can be converted or reversed to accommodatechanging weather and temperature conditions, different fashions, and/ordifferent levels of physical activity are well known. Inner and outergarments are popular, such as a vest detachably fastened within a jacketshell or an insulative component also detachably fastened within anouter garment. Such convertible garments may be configured as two ormore independently wearable components such as the vest within an outerjacket, or may have additional layers or linings selectively attached toa basic garment. Another approach to convertibility has involved agarment from which traditional parts such as sleeves or hoods areseparable.

Existing convertible jackets generally do not provide for adequate bodyventilation and unrestricted arm and shoulder movement when fullyassembled. Ventilating panels of materials such as mesh preserve theunitary construction of garment areas to which they are joined andtherefore do not contribute to freedom of arm and shoulder movement.Conversely, pleated or extensible panel constructions in convertiblegarments complicate orientation and attachment of the garmentcomponents.

Each year the fashion industry attempts to modify fashion styles. Forexample, dresses may vary in length, shape, neckline, and othercharacteristics. Outerwear may have similar variances. It would beadvantageous to provide a single garment that could be employed for usein a variety of different situations, since contemporary styles displaya tendency to change rapidly.

In the late 1990s, fashion retailers began selling to the mainstreamconsumer the latest fashion designs shortly after being debuted atfashion shows. Known as fast fashion, retailers began to manufacture thenewest clothing trends quickly and inexpensively to allow the mainstreamconsumer to buy current clothing styles at low prices. Fast fashion issynonymous with the phrase, disposable fashion. Due to cheap fabrics andpoor construction, garments began to fall apart quickly, so buying a newgarment was often less expensive than making alterations.

Several problems exist for the consumer who wishes to maintain a currentwardrobe. With the exception of fast fashion garments, the cost ofmanufacturing clothing has substantially increased over the past fewyears. Fast fashion garments are intentionally manufactured to fallapart after their first wear. Despite low prices, in the long run theconsumer ends up spending, twice as much to replace the originalgarment. Alternatively, the cost of higher quality garments hasincreased significantly over the past few years due to the increasedcost of manufacturing, fair labor wages and materials. Accordingly, itis difficult for many consumers to afford the cost of updating one'swardrobe. Further, with respect to articles of clothing comprisingouterwear, styles not only vary, but depending on the social occasionrequire differing outerwear.

The use of traditional shawls has significant disadvantages. Certainclothing designs, such as shawls, require an individual to wrap a shawlover the shoulders. Traditional shawls or blankets, worn as shawls, aremerely rectangular pieces of fabric that do not include sleeves, throughwhich arms are manipulated and must be held in place by the person onwhom it is draped. In addition to sleeves, traditional shawls orblankets, worn as shawls, do not include pockets.

Therefore, there is a need for a stylish garment that provides the userwith warmth, will stay in place during periods of activity, and can beconverted for a different style when desired.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

A number of patents disclose garments that can be converted or reversed,but none discloses a hoodless coat, jacket, cloak, cowl, shawl, orblanket that can be inverted in such a way as to preserve equal lengthsleeves before and after inversion, pockets in both original andinverted forms, and/or a fastener or clasp. Moreover, conventionalgarments that can be converted or reversed often suffer fromconstraining body movement and excess material in at least one of theconfigurations.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,682, issued Nov. 26, 1985 to Hiliquist forCONVERTIBLE JACKET describes a convertible jacket comprising asleeveless body garment in the general form of a vest and an uppercomponent comprising, as a unit, two sleeve portions connected by a yokeportion incorporating a neckhole and, optionally, a neckhole extensionsuch as a collar or hood. The yoke portion of the upper component is soconfigured as to substantially cover the upper back and shoulder area ofthe body. The upper component, when combined with the vest, forms aselectively convertible jacket providing a second layer of constructionupon the upper back and shoulders, minimum restriction of arm andshoulder movement and positive body ventilation. The upper component canbe oriented and attached to the vest by fastener means and can bedetached and removed from the vest. Such attachment or removal may beeffected without regard to whether the vest is being worn.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,402, issued Nov. 11, 1980 to Roach forMULTI-FUNCTIONAL CONVERTIBLE GARMENT describes a multi-functionalconvertible human garment adapted for furs and the like comprising fourpieces: a jacket member, a first extension member, a second extensionmember, and a belt member. The members utilize zipper-type slidefastener means permitting certain members which are locatable adjacentone another in various combinations to be inter-engaged with one anotherin various assemblies. Thus, the garment can serve as a jacket, a stole,a street length or car coat, and a maxi or full length coat.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,288 issued Feb. 23, 1982 to Henrickson forINVERTIBLE OUTERWEAR GARMENT describes an article of clothing for use asan outerwear garment. The garment comprises a planar integral portionhaving an elliptical configuration. Invertible sleeves are attached atarmholes in the integral portion at a position allowing for use asshawl-length outerwear and additionally for inverted use as floor-lengthouterwear. Reversible kimono sleeves are provided. The garment isavailable in only two sleeve lengths: full length, longer sleeves, andstreet length, shorter sleeves. The material is sufficient to form ahood. No pockets are provided. Moreover, there is no provision for aclasp in this reference. A number of dimension ratios along axes isdisclosed, none of which are present in the inventive garment of thepresent invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided aninvertible, tailored, contoured, fitted garment, such as a coat, jacket,cloak, cowl, shawl, or blanket, resulting in two tailored, contoured,fitted garments. A long pattern piece having a shawl collar is provided,as is a short pattern piece having a cowl collar. First and secondpattern sleeves are provided for forming sleeves. An elongated armholeis provided to which the first and second pattern sleeves are removablyattached. The long pattern piece and the short pattern piece each haveat least one pocket. The length of the first and second sleeves of theoriginal garment are substantially equal to the length of the first andsecond sleeves of the garment after inversion thereof. A fastener in theform of a clasp, a snap, a zipper, a metal retainer pair, a hook andloop fastener, or a button and hole fastener permits attachment of awraparound portion to the body of the short, inverted garment.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an invertible,reversible, tailored, contoured, fitted garment, such as a coat, jacket,cloak, cowl, shawl, or blanket.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an invertibleand reversible garment that preserves substantially equal lengths ofsleeves before and after inversion.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an invertibleand reversible garment that provides pockets in both original andinverted forms.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide aninvertible garment that provides wearable ease in both directions of armmovement without excess material in either of the configurations.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an invertiblegarment that has provision for a fastener or clasp.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are morereadily apparent with reference to the following detailed descriptionand the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained byreference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunctionwith the subsequent detailed description, in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are front views of a garment and an invertible formthereof, respectively, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a preferred sewn pattern of materialrepresenting the long orientation garment as shown in FIG. 1A; and

FIG. 3 is a front view of a preferred sewn pattern of materialrepresenting the short, inverted orientation garment as shown in FIG.1B.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Although the following detailed description contains specific detailsfor the purposes of illustration, those of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that variations and alterations to the following detailsare within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the exemplaryembodiments of the invention described below are set forth without anyloss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, theclaimed invention.

An invertible, reversible, tailored, contoured, fitted garment isprovided having a long front pattern piece with one or two pockets. Ashort back pattern piece. A long front pattern piece and a short backpattern piece are provided, as are two pattern sleeves. When the garmentis inverted, the short front pattern becomes the back yoke pattern piece(not shown) of the garment and the two sleeves are substantially equalin length to the sleeves in the original garment.

Referring now to FIG. 1A, there is shown a front view of a longorientation original garment 10, such as a coat, cloak, or shawl. Thisoriginal garment 10 has a center back E and two sleeves S₁, S₂,substantially equal in length to one another. Armhole B₁, B₂ arepositioned on either side of garment 10. Sleeves S₁, S₂ are attached toarmholes B₁, B₂, respectively, as is well known in the art. As shown inthis FIG. 1A, one or both of the extremities of sleeves S₁, S₂ can beformed into permanent or temporary cuffs. The front opening of garment10 is represented by letter F₁. At the lower portion of front opening F₁is a long opening H₁. At the lower extremity of garment 10 is aconventional hem G₁.

A yoke seam A₁ runs transverse to the major axis of garment 10 at theupper portion thereof. Likewise, a back yoke D₁ runs transverse to themajor axis of garment 10, as shown. A shoulder seam C₁ connects thefront of garment 10 to the back thereof.

An optional first clasp I₁′ is positioned inside garment 10 midway alonga first side thereof to mate with snap J₁′ at the inside, opposite sideof garment 10, when required. An identical pair of clasp and snap I₁, J₁is provided at the lower extremities of garment 10. Although theclasp-snap combination I, J for both fastener pairs is preferred, otherfastening means can be substituted to provide the same function,including but not limited to hook-and-loop fasteners, a zipper, a buttonand hole, a metal retainer pair, magnetic fasteners, and the like, notshown.

Two pockets K₁, K₂ are provided in the preferred embodiment. Garment 10can include only one pocket K₁ or K₂ or no pockets, if desired,depending upon the preference of a wearer, not shown. Accordingly, anynumber of pockets or no pockets used with garment 10 are consideredwithin the scope of the present invention.

Referring now also to FIG. 1B, there is shown a front view of theinverted garment 10′, actually a second garment, now in the shortorientation, forming a coat, cloak, or cowl. Inverted garment 10′ alsohas center back E and two sleeves S₁, S₂, substantially equal in lengthto one another. Armholes B₁, B₂ are positioned on either side of garment10. Sleeves S₁, S₂ are attached to armholes B₁, B₂, respectively, as iswell known in the art. As shown in this FIG. 1B, one or both of theextremities of sleeves S₁, S₂ can be formed into permanent or temporarycuffs. The front opening F₁ of original garment 10 is now identified asletter F₂ of inverted garment 10′. The long opening H₁ of originalgarment 10 is now a cross body wrap, identified as letter H₂ of invertedgarment 10′. At the lower extremity of inverted garment 10′ is aconventional hem G₂.

The yoke seam A₁ of original garment 10 is now identified as a side seamF₂ of inverted garment 10′. Likewise, the back yoke D₁ of originalgarment 10 is now a back neck D₂ of inverted garment 10′. A shoulderseam C₂ connects the front of garment 10′ to the backthereof.

The clasp I₁ and snap J₁ of original garment 10 are now referred to asletters I₂ and J₂, respectively, of inverted garment 10′ and are used tofasten the wraparound portion thereof to the body thereof, as shown.

The two pockets K₁, K₂ of original garment 10 are now identified asletters K₁′ and K₂′ of inverted garment 10′. Once again, any number ofpockets or no pockets used with garment 10′ are considered within thescope of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the patterns of long orientation garment 10(FIG. 1A) are shown in sewn position. Pattern piece 1 is the back oforiginal garment 10; pattern piece 2 is the shawl collar of originalgarment 10; pattern piece 3 is the sleeves of original garment 10; andpattern piece 4 is the pockets of original garment 10. Connectingsleeves S₁, S₂ to armholes are elongated armholes B₁, B₂ (FIG. 1A).Sleeves S₁, S₂ can be removably attached to armholes B₁, B₂ to provideyet another design configuration for garments 10 or 10′. The use ofelongated armholes B₁, B₂ provides wearable ease for a wearer's arms inboth directions.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the patterns of short orientation invertedgarment 10′ (FIG. 1B) are shown in sewn position. Pattern piece 1 is thecowl collar of inverted garment 10′; pattern piece 2 is the back ofinverted garment 10′; pattern piece 3 is the sleeves of inverted garment10′; and pattern piece 4 is the pockets of inverted garment 10′.Connecting sleeves S₁, S₂ to armholes are elongated armholes B₁, B₂(FIG. 1B). Once again, the use of elongated armholes B₁, B₂ provideswearable ease for a wearer's arms in both directions.

In operation, a person, not shown, wearing original garment 10 firstunfastens the clasp and snap fastener I, J, slips garment 10 from hershoulders, and removes her arms from sleeves S₁, S₂, and invertingsleeves S₁, S₂. Now that original garment 10 has sleeves S₁, S₂ insideout, the garment is inverted, ready for wrapping and wearing as a shortorientation inverted garment 10′. The wearer places her arms in sleevesS₁, S₂ of inverted garment 10′ and wraps loose cross body wrap H₂ aroundher body, fastening clasp I₂ and snap J₂ together. The extremities ofsleeves S₁, S₂ can be cuffed or sleeves S₁, S₂ can be removedaltogether.

All references throughout this application, for example patent documentsincluding issued or granted patents or equivalents; patent applicationpublications; and non-patent literature documents or other sourcematerial; are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties, as though individually incorporated by reference, to theextent each reference is at least partially not inconsistent with thedisclosure in this application. (For example, a reference that ispartially inconsistent is incorporated by reference except for thepartially inconsistent portion of the reference). All patents andpublications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the levelsof skill of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.References cited herein indicate the state of the art as of theirpublication or filing date and it is intended that this information canbe employed herein, if needed, to exclude specific embodiments that arein the prior art.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used asterms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention inthe use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents ofthe features shown and described or portions thereof, but it isrecognized that various modifications are possible within the scope ofthe invention claimed. Thus, it should be understood that although thepresent invention has been specifically disclosed by preferredembodiments, exemplary embodiments and optional features, modificationand variation of the concepts herein disclosed may be resorted to bythose skilled in the art, and that such modifications and variations areconsidered to be within the scope of this invention as defined by theappended claims. The specific embodiments provided herein are examplesof useful embodiments of the present invention and it will be apparentto one skilled in the art that the present invention may be carried outusing a great number of variations of the devices, device components,and method steps set forth in the present description. As will beobvious to one of skill in the art, methods and devices useful for thepresent methods can include a great number of optional composition andprocessing elements and steps.

As used herein, “comprising” is synonymous with “including,”“containing,” or “characterized by,” and is inclusive or open-ended anddoes not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. As usedherein, “consisting of” excludes any element, step, or ingredient notspecified in the claim element. As used herein, “consisting essentiallyof” does not exclude materials or steps that do not materially affectthe basic and novel characteristics of the claim. In each instanceherein any of the terms “comprising”, “consisting essentially of,” and“consisting of” may be replaced with either of the other two terms. Theinvention illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced inthe absence of any element or elements, limitation or limitations whichis not specifically disclosed herein.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operatingrequirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in theart, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen forpurposes of disclosure and covers all changes and modifications which donot constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected byLetters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An invertible, tailored, contoured, fittedgarment comprising: a) a long pattern piece having a shawl collar; b) ashort pattern piece having a yoke collar; c) a long back pattern piece;d) a short back pattern piece; e) a first pattern sleeve for forming afirst sleeve; f) a second pattern sleeve for forming a second sleeve;and g) an elongated armhole to which said first and second patternsleeves are removably attached.
 2. The garment in accordance with claim1, wherein the long pattern piece has at least one pocket formedtherein.
 3. The garment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the lengthof the first and second sleeves of the original garment aresubstantially equal to the length of the first and second sleeves of thegarment after inversion thereof.
 4. The garment in accordance with claim1, wherein the short pattern piece is a yoke collar and drapes over theshoulders and creates an open collar.
 5. The garment in accordance withclaim 4, further comprising a fastener for fastening a portion of thelong front pattern piece to a portion of the short front pattern pieceafter inversion thereof.
 6. The garment in accordance with claim 5,wherein the fastener is chosen from a group of fasteners consisting of:a clasp; a snap; a zipper; a metal retainer pair; a hook and loopfastener; and a button and hole fastener.
 7. The garment in accordancewith claim 1, wherein the garment is one of a group of clothingconsisting of: a coat; a cloak; a cowl; a shawl; and a blanket.
 8. Thegarment in accordance with claim 1 wherein the first and second patternsleeves can be removable.
 9. An invertible, tailored, contoured, fittedgarment comprising: a) a long pattern piece creating approximately 66%of the long back and front; b) a short pattern piece having a singleyoke to drape over shoulders to create an open collar; c) a firstpattern sleeve for forming a first sleeve; d) a second pattern sleevefor forming a second sleeve; and e) an elongated armhole to which thefirst and second pattern sleeves are removably attached.
 10. The garmentin accordance with claim 9, wherein the long pattern piece has at leastone pocket formed therein.
 11. The garment in accordance with claim 9,wherein the length of the first and second sleeves of the originalgarment are substantially equal to the length of the first and secondsleeves of the garment after inversion thereof.
 12. The garment inaccordance with claim 9, wherein the short pattern piece is a singleyoke and drapes over a wearer's shoulders to create an open collar. 13.The garment in accordance with claim 9, further comprising a fastenerchosen from a group of fasteners consisting of: a clasp; a snap; azipper; a metal retainer pair; a hook and loop fastener; and a buttonand hole fastener.
 14. The garment in accordance with claim 9, whereinthe garment is one of a group of clothing consisting of: a coat, ajacket, a cloak, a cowl, a shawl, a car coat, a poncho, a dupatta, ahijab, a nursing garment, a blanket or a vest.
 15. The garment inaccordance with claim 9, wherein the first and second pattern sleevesare removable.